The Bronx
by Sgt.Pepperony
Summary: A young woman accidently kills a man in self-defence in the NY borough of the Bronx, Coulson's team is set in due to the circumstances in which caused the man to be killed. The result is a wild goose chase through the Bronx and Manhattan in order to find her and bring her in for questioning.
1. Chapter One

**Title: **The Bronx**  
Author:** Sgt. Pepperony  
**Fandom: **Marvel's Agent's of S.H.I.E.L.D  
**Rating:** T for violence and descriptions of such, and suggestive language.  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of the S.H.I.E.L.D characters or the character this revolves around.

Chapter One

The streets seemed much colder now that January had set in and it certainly felt colder to one young woman who had been living rough for the past six months. Having been separated from her brother, she had no way of getting food on her own. Her brother was too fast for people to notice someone was stealing from their shop but she always made it look too obvious. Her last attempt nearly ended up with her in prison, though she had to admit prison would be better than moving from building to building each night and she would at least get a hot meal a day.

Wrapping the blanket she kept in her bag around her body, she looked at the other women that were standing on the curb, waiting for men to pull up in their cars, take them to their houses or maybe just stay in the car then bring them back less than an hour later with money. She could not judge them as they were just as desperate as she was but she did not want to believe she was that desperate.

"Fancy some business?" one of the women asked a man who was passing.

"Depends on who with." The man looked around before locking his eyes onto the woman with the blanket. "What about that bit over there?"

"Her? She just sleeps here, doesn't go with any of the guys."

"We'll see about that." The man walked up to the covered woman and pushed her up against the wall.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"What do you think? You're no grander than the rest of these whores. What makes you so different?"

"Get off me," she said quietly.

"No can do sweetheart, you are going to give me the lot. Even if I have to force you to do so," he leered and she could practically smell the alcohol on the guys breath. She tried to push him away but he was much heavier than she was and all he did was push her further into the wall, grinding against her.

"Okay, enough. She clearly does not want it," said one of the women trying to get the guy off only for her to be slapped onto the floor. The younger woman began to cry before a bright red light appeared from her hands that threw the guy into the street and into a speeding bus.

"Oh my god!" someone screamed when they saw the crumpled body of the guy. When they turned to the young woman, she was no longer there.

"Wanda?" asked one of the girls.

-o-

"Since when did people being hit by a bus become S.H.I.E.L.D business?" asked Skye as she, Coulson, Ward and May walked onto the crime scene. "Unless he was magnetically pulled under the bus then I can understand, though that would be unfortunate."

"According to the women here, Mr Davis Browning was blown into the street by a bright red light coming from another woman's hands," Coulson explained leaning down next to the body.

"It doesn't have anything to do with Centipede does it?" asked Ward.

"No, they just saw a red light, not fire. Besides, this guy would have burns on his body."

"What do you suppose caused her to shoot him into the street?" asked May.

"Excuse me?" one of the women asked nervously. "I think I can help."

"Go on," said Coulson.

"Well, this guy came up to us and started looking for the girl he wanted to sleep with and he picked this girl – her name is Wanda by the way. She doesn't go with the punters, she just sleeps in that ally there, but the guy tried to force himself onto her. Then out of nowhere this red light came out of her hands and threw the guy into the bus."

"So it was self-defence?" asked May.

"I know the girl quite well, or at least I thought; she would not hurt a fly."

"Okay, miss. Can you give me a brief description of her?"

"Um, it's difficult to describe because I have only seen her in the dark but she's under twenty-five, her hair is like reddish-brown, is rather skinny. I'm sorry, I cannot tell much else. She always stayed out of the light. She isn't going to jail is she?"

"We'll have to get back to you on that," said Coulson as he wrote his last note on the pad.

"AC, can I just say that she might just be frightened. She was nearly raped by this jerk and she accidentally killed someone," said Skye.

"She would be, however, I have to focus on the fact she has unexplained powers that caused the death of someone," Coulson responded. "Skye, try not to get too attached to this case."

"Why would I?"

"You were homeless, you are an orphan, and this girl might not have parents. There is always a chance of someone empathising with someone with a similar background."

"I'll try my best but I still think you should go easy on her."

-o-

Wanda had run from the scene of the crime for the first ten blocks until she was certain that she was as far away as possible. She knew the police would be at the scene by now so she collapsed onto bench, panting, sweaty and freezing. It was only then she realised that she had left her blanket at the scene in the rush to get away. Now she was homeless, broke, starving, a killer and freezing.

"Well, life cannot get any worse," she murmured. Once she had caught her breath, she grabbed her bag and went to go and look for some form of shelter. She was used to doing this but it usually meant staying in public bathrooms, subway stations, or bus shelters, which meant that she was slowly becoming ill and with no medical insurance, Wanda had no chance of being treated.

After a few miles or so, she decided to go into the subway station. It was shelter and would be warmer than a bus shelter and less diseased than a public toilet. Placing her bag on the floor and she lay down. It was possibly the worst night of her life, but it could not get any worse.


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

"So in a city of over eight million, with a female homeless population of around twenty-six thousand, we are looking for one skinny girl who has auburn hair and nothing else described about her," Skye sated while she and Ward were looking through a homeless shelter.

"She cannot have gotten far," said Ward. "Like Coulson said, we have a ten-mile radius to search. Unless she has wings, I doubt she would have made it to Manhattan by now."

"I suppose that is a good point. It isn't like she has a car to sleep in, and I cannot see any young auburn women in here. I suppose one way is to find her."

"How?"

"Check the subway stations."

"That is a start, but which one do we start with?"

On the other side of the Bronx, Coulson and May were looking through the bus shelters but they were having about as much luck as Skye and Ward were.

"Do you think the girl is a threat?" asked May.

"I don't think she is a threat to humanity. However, if we don't find her, we don't know what danger she could put herself and others into."

"A bit like the Hannah Hutchins case?"

"Sort of but I don't think she has a dead secret admirer looking over her."

"Are you thinking about what Skye said about taking it easy on her?"

"Skye has a point; however we have to use protocol. The best we can do is talk to her and see what is going on."

"And then what?"

"I don't know."

"Okay, we have looked at every bus shelter this side of the Bronx. What now?"

"Subway?"

-o-

It was early when Wanda woke up to the sound people coming down the steps, possibly on their way to work so Wanda got up and grabbed her bag, waiting for the train to come so she could sneak on and get as far as she could away from the Bronx.

If her brother was here she would have jumped onto his back and they would go anywhere within less than a couple of minutes. She missed her brother; life was easier when they were together, but now she was on her own. Her mind did go to the moment they were separated. She was exhausted and could not go on much further, even with her brother carrying her, though at that point he was also tired of carrying her.

The last word she ever heard her brother say were, "I'll go and get some food. Just stay here, sleep and I'll be back before you know it."

Even though she had no watch or phone to help her check the time, she clearly knew the difference between day and night. When her brother left, it was night. When she woke up it was day and he was not there. She did stay there for two whole days without food until she realised he was not coming back.

Snapping out of her thoughts, Wanda turned her head and saw two people standing next to her. A man who had light olive skin like Wanda's and a Eurasian woman, both attractive. She assumed by how close the pair was standing together, she assumed that they were a couple, or maybe just close friends. The train pulled up to the platform, and the three of them got onto an empty carriage.

"So are we going to travel through each subway station until we can find Wanda." Skye said casually as though Ward was not clear on the plan.

Wanda snapped her head up upon hearing her name and almost panicked but kept her cool so she would not draw attention to herself. Then again, she looked a complete mess with her crumpled clothes and unclean hair so it wasn't difficult to bring attention to herself.

Placing her hand on the railing as the train began to move, she received a static shock, which caused her hand to shoot the red glow out of her hand and she was knocked her to the ground. It was only then she realised what she had done in front of these two people.

Skye and Ward looked surprised at their chance encounter but they needed to be kicked into action Wanda got up and ran through the carriage door. Ward went after her, running through the empty carriages while Wanda's adrenaline had kicked into overdrive in a bid to get away.

"Wait, Wanda we just want to speak to you."

"That is what they all say."

They reached the end of the train where Wanda ran into a dead end. Panting, she rested her hands against the driver's door.

"For crying out loud, I haven't ran that far," she breathed.

"Got you," Ward said grabbing her wrist, only for her hand to start glowing, and Ward was blasted to the other end of the carriage, hitting the door with a loud thud.

The train ground to a halt when it reached the next station and Wanda opened the door, running onto the platform through the crowd about to get on. Seeing her run Ward got up but the crowd prevented him from getting off the train and just as he managed to get to the door, the train started to pull away from the platform.

"Damn it," he whispered.


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

"Do you know what station she got off at?" asked Coulson while on the phone to Skye.

"Baychester Avenue I think. I don't think she has gotten far according to the map. However, she could get onto another subway line from where we are."

"How did she even manage to get away?"

"She used the red glowy thing to blast Ward away."

"Wait, she attacked him?"

"No, according to Ward it happened after he touched her wrist. Coulson, I am beginning to think this is a self-defence reaction. I don't think she is doing it on purpose."

"Are you implying that her powers have a life of their own?"

"I don't think that she can control them."

"Right, May and I are on the subway as well just getting up to 225th Street."

"Okay, I can give you more detail on her appearance. She's wearing a purple-plaid shirt, black leggings and some plain black sneakers. No makeup, face looks like it could do with a clean as could her hair. She's also got olive skin if that helps."

"Thanks Skye, at least we know who to look out for." Coulson got off the phone and turned to May. "Skye and Ward found Wanda but they lost her when Ward grabbed her wrist. It looks like she could be heading for this subway line."

"How do you know?"

"It is the nearest subway if she wants to get as far away from the Bronx as she can."

"So what do we do if we see her?"

"Try not to scare her. Skye thinks that is what is causing her powers to occur. Just act natural."

"That I can do."

-o-

"How is the head?" asked Skye when the pair left the subway station.

"I'm not too sure."

"What part hurts?"

"The part above my shoulders. What did Coulson say?"

"That he and May are up to 225th Street. They'll keep their eyes peeled for Wanda, I just hope they don't freak her out like you did."

"She should not have ran away."

"You should not have grabbed her wrist. She was scared enough already."

"Why do you care so much?"

"Because I know what it is like to have people after you, to be without a home or someone to love."

"What did Coulson say about empathizing too much?"

"Just because you lot are devoid of all feeling doesn't mean I am."

"Are you saying FitzSimmons are devoid of all emotion?"

"I meant just you, Coulson and May. You and May especially."

"Hey, I do have emotions. I just don't show them because it would give the enemy a chance to mess with me."

"Oh yeah, how is Grammsy?"

-o-

By the time the train approached 225th Street, May was keeping a close eye on the passengers getting on to the train.

"Purple-plaid shirt, unclean looking," Coulson whispered looking at the other end of the carriage.

"There is just as much chance that she got on another carriage," said May.

"Once the train moves, we'll go looking."

When the entire crowd got onto the train, the doors closed only for someone to stop the doors from closing.

"Thank you," the woman said getting onto the train.

"Purple-plaid at nine o'clock," Coulson murmured.

"Are you sure it is her?"

"Unclean face and hair, olive skin just as Skye said. I'm taking a chance. Just don't approach her until she is ready to get off. We do not want to cause a scene, for both our protection and hers."

"Okay, just try not to look at her too much. It looks weird."

They must have travelled for at least an hour before Wanda decided to exit the train on Houston Street. Coulson and May got off the train about ten seconds later and began following her through the Manhattan streets, trying not to draw attention to themselves. Wanda was oblivious to the fact she was being stalked and by the time she had reached a park she was just about ready to collapse on a bench.

She had gone without food and drink for at least fifteen hours, had only slept about three hours and was being chased by a team who she assumed were the detectives investigating the murder she committed. To top it all off, she was starting to develop a fever. It was now she was considering just handing herself into the police if it meant she could get a shower, food and a good night's sleep in somewhere other than the places she was sleeping in.

"Lovely weather we're having." Wanda turned her head and saw a Chinese woman sitting beside her.

"Not really. It's cold, damp and miserable."

"Then why are you sitting outside."

"I have no home to go to. I wouldn't be looking like this otherwise."

"I guess so."

"What's your excuse? I bet you are one of those people who enjoy winter weather."

"Not really, I was just waiting to meet someone."

"And you could not do that in a diner, with heat and food?"

"What a good idea. I will text my friend to meet us in that diner across the street. You can come too. You look like you could do with something to eat."

"I'm fine, I do not need charity."

"No, just call it not wanting to be lonely. Come on." Wanda looked uncertain about the idea of getting food paid for by a complete stranger, but her stomach beat her head and she decided to accept the offer. "So where are you from?"

"Honestly, Transia."

"Oh I know it."

"Really, most people I meet have no idea. Mind you it is about the same size as New York City so it is not that easy to spot on a map."

"You sound like an American."

"I got lessons. Just about the only useful lesson I received."

"You hated math too?"

"Math didn't bother me but it wasn't a necessity on the curriculum."

"I didn't realise that Transia didn't like math that much."

"I never mentioned that I was educated in Transia."

"Okay, you moved here and was educated here."

"Yes I was. You seem to ask a lot of questions."

"I was just wondering where you come from. You don't sound like you are a New York native."

"Neither do you to be frank."

"Fair point."

The two reached the diner where Wanda grabbed a seat and looked at the menu, "I'll have a burger and fries."

"Okay then."

The two at their food in silence until a man approached their table.

"Sorry I was late Melinda. I got caught up with looking for a murder suspect." Wanda felt the blood rush from her face and to her heart causing it to go into overdrive. "Do you know anything about a murder Ms?"

"I think I am going to be sick." Wanda ran outside to the nearest trashcan and emptied the contents of her stomach into it. When she had finished, she turned her head to see the two people had followed her out.

"Better?" the man asked.

"Not really."

"Come on in Wanda, we'll get you some water."

"How do you know my name?"

"Melinda told me."

"I never mentioned my name to you," Wanda said putting two and two together before making a run for it only for May to catch up with her and grab her shirt collar. "Get off me!"

"I cannot do that."

"Melinda, let go of her collar," said Coulson.

"And let her get away again, no chance."

"If you don't then she is just going to use her powers on you like she did Ward and run anyway." Coulson had a point so May loosed her grip on the collar and released the younger woman.

"Thanks," said Wanda. "But you really do need to learn not to listen to the boss." Wanda blasted Coulson into a wall and punched May in the face, only for the older and stronger woman to react by issuing counterattacks.

"You really don't give up do you?" asked May.

"If it means getting away from you lot then yes. I do things on my own accord, no one else's." Wanda tried to punch May again only for her to miss and get a punch in the stomach herself, winding her in the process.

"Now are you going to come quietly?" asked May.

Wanda was not sure what was coming over her, but both her arms had started glowing red and the next thing she knew, May was halfway down the block, crumpled on the floor and Coulson looking completely shocked. Before he could even get up, she was on her way down the other end of the street, crouching over due to the blow to the stomach she received. Coulson was caught between checking his teammate or chasing after Wanda; May was not moving much so his attention went to her instead.

"Why didn't you go after her?" May wheezed.

"I needed to check if you were alive. Don't worry May, we'll have another chance to get her."


	4. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

"It must have been a more powerful version of the red glowy thing to cause May to end up crumpled on the floor," said Skye giving her dishevelled teammates some coffee. "What did it feel like?"

"Like I was being burnt without the damage," May answered sipping her coffee.

"It did not just come from her hands, it came from the entire length of her arms as well," said Coulson. "Which means that it has the potential to take over her whole body."

"Yikes," said Skye. "I would not like to be on the receiving end of that."

"She seemed like a nice girl," said Coulson.

"She was. She's not an American though. She might not have any records," May said almost with a glimmer of sympathy.

"Okay, she cannot have gotten far, especially when May punched her in the stomach. Now that you three have missed your chance, I am going to try to get her to co-operate. Only I will not chase or go all Jet Li on her," Skye said explaining her plan.

"You might want to bribe her with some food. She threw up the last thing she ate," said Coulson. "Right, tomorrow we start afresh. We've not been to sleep and we need to focused if we need are going to speak to her."

"Good idea."

-o-

The next morning, Wanda woke up to the smell of meat filling her nostrils, where she noticed how hungry she was. She opened her eyes and saw a McDonalds wrapper being presented to her by the Eurasian woman who was with the younger man yesterday.

"Don't run, please. I'm not going to hurt you, I just want to talk. I'm Skye." The woman sat beside her as Wanda sat up, taking the muffin of Skye. "Tell you what you could not have picked a less private spot to sleep in."

"Why?" asked Wanda taking a bit and practically moaned at the taste of the sausage and egg.

"You are sleeping under Stark Tower. The paparazzi like this place."

"Why who is so special enough to have their photo taken in front of this thing?"

"Tony Stark, Billionaire, head of Stark Industries?" Wanda shook her head. "Iron Man?" Again, Wanda shook her head. "You've never heard of Iron Man?"

"Is he someone I should know about?"

"He drove a nuclear missile into a wormhole that destroyed all the Chitauri during the Battle of New York. Have you been living under a rock or something?"

"You could say that. So, you look young for a detective."

"I'm not a detective. I am a hacker."

"The difference?"

"I don't work for the police. I work for S.H.I.E.L.D. They rehabilitate people who have gifts beyond natural human abilities, teach them how to control their gifts and use them for good and defending the earth."

"Right. So they want to draft me for their army of earth defenders?"

"No, at least not yet. I think you have powers that with a little work could be used to help save the world."

"You know that is what the last person who tried to recruit me said. My powers have the potential to help him with his plan for world domination."

"Gee, he sounds like a good boss."

"He wasn't. So what are you going to do?"

"What do you mean what am I going to do?"

"Are you going to knock me so your friends can come and take me away?"

"I was hoping that you would volunteer to come with me. You could just go, or you could start a new life where there is food, a warm bed, and a shower. We can also get that fever sorted out without medical insurance and for free."

"And then use me as a weapon."

"I think this is a conversation you should be having with Agent Coulson, not me. I have not got the clearance to know about the Avengers Initiative in full but what I can tell you is that you could be awesome. Not that you aren't awesome, you took down the Cavalry."

"That doesn't make me awesome."

"Trust me it does. So are you in?"

"Why are you doing this for me?"

"Because I have been in your situation that I have only recently gotten out of and that was because of S.H.I.E.L.D. I'm not like you Wanda; the gift I have is being able to hack files. Useful for simple S.H.I.E.L.D business yes but not so good for anything else."

"I'm not much of a fighter."

"You could just become an agent. The only reason I suggested the Avengers because if something like New York happens again, I think that you can be a massive help to them."

Wanda contemplated Skye's suggestion. On the one hand, she could be used as a weapon like last time. On the other hand, she could have a new life, and so could her brother if he ever turned up. A life where she was not considered a freak or a demon. A life that had more options for her than dying on the street by the time she turned twenty-five.

"Okay, you win."

"Okay, Agent Ward – the one you knocked out on the subway yesterday – is waiting for us in the car to take us to a plane. It's just like home."


	5. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

The minute Wanda left the car as the plane was about to take off, Skye took her straight to the showers to get cleaned and she left Wanda a t-shirt and sweatpants.

"There you go. I knew there was a pretty face behind the grime and dirt," said Skye when she finished drying Wanda's hair. Wanda did not respond and just grabbed the hairbands from the table and tied her hair back into a ponytail. "Okay, Simmons wants to do a physical examination of your body. Just some blood samples, your height and weight and a breath test."

"Can we wait until I am not sick? I mean I don't think the breath test is going to work as well with me coughing every two seconds," said Wanda.

"It's nothing a few antibiotics can't cure. Besides Coulson wants to speak with you so you may as well do it. Come on." Skye lead Wanda to the lab where Jemma had already set up the syringes and test equipment and the sight of the needles made Wanda nervous. "It's okay, it'll only hurt just a tiny little bit and not for long."

"You never mentioned needles."

"How else is she going to get the blood out?"

"Punching me in the face sounds like a good idea."

"I cannot really throw a punch hard enough to cause you to bleed," Jemma said leading the younger woman to the examination table. "Here are some antibiotic pills to help counteract the influenza. These should relieve the symptoms you are experiencing."

"Okay, thanks. Let's just get this needle thing over and done with," said Wanda presenting her arm to Jemma.

""So, I heard you took out Agent May, nice going," said Fitz holding a tray so Jemma could put on the syringes on after use.

"It was not my intention. I think my powers got kicked into overdrive when she punched me in the stomach," said Wanda squeezing her eyes shut as Jemma stuck the needle into a vein, extracting her blood in the process.

"Ah, well done for being a braver woman than me," said Jemma placing the blood filled syringe onto the tray. "Now for the breath test." Jemma held up a little tube that was connected to a computer. "Take a very deep breath into the tube and the computer will register the volume of your lungs."

Wanda took the largest breath she could into the tube before she was told to relax. "I thought Agent Coulson wanted to talk to me," she said as she was being attached to the blood pressure monitor.

"He will be down in a moment, just relax because this might hurt a little bit," Skye said. The blood pressure machine felt like a vice around her upper arm as it tightened. It wasn't until the machine let go that Wanda opened her eyes and saw the older man she saw the day before.

"Nice to see you again Wanda, only the circumstances are much better this time."

"I'm sorry I threw you into a wall yesterday," Wanda replied.

"I've had worse. Trust me."

"Skye said something about the Avengers Initiative, whatever that is, and that you are the guy to talk to."

"The Avengers Initiative is a plan designed to bring together a group of special people so that they can work together against a common enemy. Our pilot run worked well enough so we are considering drafting new members, especially now that one has taken retirement."

"So who are the current members of this team?"

"I'll brief you more in private but as Skye said, with some training and tests, you could become a member of the team."

"What if I did not want to? Why can I not do your job?"

"My job involves chasing people across cities so that I can help them. It's worth it but I think you might have more fun if you were in the Avengers. They're an interesting bunch."

"Understatement of the month," murmured Fitz.

"So this is your idea of help?"

"The idea was for you to reach your potential. Until S.H.I.E.L.D thinks you are ready for training, we need you rehabilitated. For now, you will be staying in an apartment in Washington D.C. while under S.H.I.E.L.D protection. The other thing I want to ask you is that would you be open to take some classes down at the community college? You seem like a bright girl and May said you had very little opportunities for an education."

"That … That actually sounds like a plan. It's something to keep me occupied. Just for the record, I know how to use my powers at its simplest form, I just cannot control it when I have the negative emotions. It's at its worse when I am furious, which doesn't happen a lot."

"Well, Wanda … Okay what is your last name because it seems weird to have just one name?" asked Coulson.

"It's Maximoff, Agent Coulson. My name is Wanda Maximoff."

**There is more to come. This is more a prequel to some other stories I am writing involving Wanda.**


End file.
